Ron Arad’s widow calls for an end to operations risking IDF soldiers in search for his remains

The widow of Ron Arad says in a statement that the family does not want the body of the missing airman to be recovered if it means an operation that would put the lives of IDF soldiers at risk, saying that the request has been repeatedly ignored by decision-makers.

The statement comes after the military confirmed an overnight raid in Lebanon in which Arad’s body was not retrieved.

“We understand that our words until now have not been understood by the decision-makers and therefore it’s important for us to clarify: Our desire to know what happened to Ron stops as soon as there is risk to IDF soldiers,” Tami Arad writes on Facebook.

“In our eyes, the sanctity of life comes before the commitment to return the remains of a fighter for burial. This is our worldview also regarding our loved one who disappeared some 40 years ago,” she writes.

“We have stated as a family on more than one occasion that we oppose actions that would endanger soldiers. That’s why we say to the prime minister of Israel: We thank everyone involved in the intelligence activity concerning Ron. We value the commitment of the State of Israel, yet we request in every way possible, do not carry out operations that have even minimal risk to the troops,” Arad writes.

“For 40 years we have lived with the fact that Ron is missing, we want to know what happened to Ron, but not at any cost. The sanctity of life comes above the closing of a circle of certainty for us. We prefer to live with the painful possibility that Ron’s bones are in Lebanon rather than wake up in the morning to the news that an IDF soldier was injured, or God forbid, killed, in an operation to bring back his remains, if indeed they are his,” she writes.

“We thank the IDF soldiers and security forces and appreciate those who worked for Ron, and we ask that our request to sanctify life be honored,” writes Arad.